The NY Times reports that the Fukushima disaster has already caused a temporary slowdown in the nuclear industry. Officials in India and China say they will re-evaluate their plans for building plants. Germany announced that it would temporarily shut seven nuclear plants that went online before 1980; the European Union made plans to test all the other nuclear power plants within its member countries.

In a further indication that the risk involved in nuclear power is incalculable the Times reports that when the National Research Council tallied up environmental costs for various fossil fuels it did not even try to do so for nuclear power. The reason? The “power-plant risk modeling and spent-fuel transportation modeling” required was beyond the scope of the council’s study. The bottom line is, the risk appears low to the nuclear industry...but the worst-scenario spells disaster.

Elsewhere commentators in corporate television broadcasts are saying that protesters will be demonstrating for no more nukes, and as investors pull away from supporting nuclear power, the market will ultimately damage the industry.